


Mad as a Hatter

by innerfangirl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alice in Wonderland References, Alice in Wonderland quotes, Bad Ron Weasley, Bad Weasley Family, Broken Harry Potter, Crazy Harry Potter, Drama queens, Everyone is underestimated, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Good Voldemort, Lion King (1994) References, Luna is related to the Malfoys, Seer Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-31 03:01:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10890294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/innerfangirl/pseuds/innerfangirl
Summary: Not everything in what it seems.Neville has long accepted this truth, but now he has to use it for the good of those who are his. No one is going to break them more. If his choices lead to a change in the war, so be it.





	Mad as a Hatter

 

> **I can see what's happening**
> 
> **What?**
> 
> **And they don't have a clue**
> 
> **Who?**
> 
> **They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line**
> 
> **Our trio's down to two.**
> 
> **Oh.**
> 
>  

Neville had worked hard to cultivate his image of the fool.

He had strategized on the plans of letting Trevor roam free and then exclaiming loudly when he "found" the toad, of using his father's wand in public so that people would think him almost a squib, and of experimenting in Potions instead of following the same recipes that he had been making since he was able to reach the cauldron. A few comments placed into chosen ears and suddenly, everyone had their image of poor Neville Longbottom.

When he was five his grandmother had sat him down and talked to him about the Longbottom legacy. The Noble and Ancient House of Black was the family that everyone knew was behind anything political; they were the family needed to know if you wanted to be anyone in society. His gran had called them sloppy.

It wasn't the House everyone  _knew_  that was important, the House who pulled strings that people weren't even aware of that was truly in charge. The Longbottom family had been that House for centuries. People only saw what they wanted and in return they were vulnerable to manipulation. She told him different ways to make a mask; she would let him sit on her bed as she painted her lips dark red and tell him stories about the latest scandal in the pureblood world.

Neville would watch her go from his Gran with chess pieces always in hand and strategies rolling through her mind to the Longbottom matriarch. She managed to hide brilliance and power and planning and blood hidden behind a facade of his strict, if a bit dull, grandmother.

He was so familiar with the painted masks that he recognized instantly that his girls were more than they appeared. So, naturally, he dedicated time to finding out  _who_  they were.

He learned the way that Luna liked her coffee. The way that she would stare at nothing for hours, lost in thought. He learned that when she bit her thumb she was annoyed, but when she bit her lip she was trying not to laugh. He learned that when she went to Hogwarts she would sneak off of grounds to visit the creatures no one else could see, and when she was at home she would invite the creatures to the back door.

He learned that her mother died when she was young and her father never recovered. He learned that she had to raise herself, and disliked people telling her what to do. He learned that she had grown up in the muggle world as her father refused to allow her near magic after the way her mother had died. He learned that by the time she was ten she had created a newspaper but attributed it to her father as she was too young to be taken seriously by even the most openminded of individuals. He learned that when she turned eleven no one remembered, and her Hogwarts letter had come a year late as a result. He learned that she was unofficially in his years' classes because she refused to stay with the younger group. He learned that she had snuck over to the Malfoy's as much as she could after finding out that they were related.

Neville learned how Rose hated the title Girl Who Lived. He learned that she desperately wished for someone else to claim the title. He learned that she drank coffee only when the moment was not right. He learned that she only put her hair up when she was angry. He learned that when she was five she didn't start school, and only started when she was seven because the neighbors noticed that she was old enough.

He learned that she had worn glamors since she was four, the bruises and cuts hidden to save her from the punishment of drawing attention. He learned that she broke her first limb at six- her arm when she fell out of her cousin's window when he pushed her for not cleaning his room fast enough. He learned that she was fiercely protective of the weak. He learned that when she cried those few times she didn't want anyone to notice. He learned that she loved muggle movies, and liked to watch them with popcorn and chocolate. He learned that she often hated the magical world, and cried in Luna's shoulder when the Daily Prophet came up with a new article.

He also learned that he was slowly loosing both of them to voices and visions only they knew. Both girls had been "blessed" (cursed) to see the things that others could not and were so often loved and hated for it.

Neville learned all of these things and started pulling the strings to protect his.

 

 

> **Ze sweet caress of twilight**
> 
> **There's magic everywhere**

 

Neville was exiting the library when he saw the gargoyle in front of the headmaster's office slide back into place. He frowned. By his fourth year there were few things happening in Hogwarts that he wasn't aware of, and there were no meetings planned with the Headmaster.

Then Neville grinned, sliding over to the gargoyle to mutter a password in its ear from a time and a language not spoken of anymore. The statue moved obediently and he thanked the castle and her founders internally.

If there had been no official plans made previously then there were unofficial plans. That meant secrets and knowledge and the power to protect what was  _his_. Neville placed a mental bet with himself on what the meeting was. A chocolate frog if Dumbledore was meeting the youngest two of the Weasley family. A frog and a blood pop for Luna if they were meeting about Rose. Neville paused, no he wouldn't feed Luna's unhealthy obsession with the treats. Just a frog and a butterbeer then.

All thoughts of treats upon the winning of the mental bet was pushed aside as he reached the door to the inner office of the headmaster. Neville reached into his bag and pulled out the twins' newest invention- a dust that turned a door into a one-way window temporarily. Rose had been thrilled to explain the concept of the windows in exchange for a supply of the product.

The door shimmered briefly before turning translucent. It appeared that Neville had won the bet as Ginny and Ron were both perched on seats in front of the headmaster's desk. The youngest Weasley was pouting in a way she obviously thought was attractive and painting her nails a bright yellow with the tip of her wand. Her brother was sneering at her, clenching and unclenching his fists angrily. Neville glanced at Dumbledore and smirked to see him hiding a contemptuous expression beneath a calm and congenial mask. A quick listening spell later and he had the first seat to the drama unfolding within.

"Headmaster!" Neville winced as Ron's whining voice filtered through the door. "Why does she get more, huh? All Ginny does is play and gossip with them. I have to listen to their complaints, risk my life, and start the new arguments!" The word she was sneered so hard, Neville was sure the other boy sprained something with his disdain.

Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatics. "Do shut up, Ron. Albus knows what he is doing." She snapped. Ron moved quickly and backhanded her. Ginny stared at him, clutching her cheek in shock at her brother's violence. He smirked victorously at her, raising his hand to strike her again. It was only the headmaster talking that made Ron lower his hand.

"Mr. Weasley, your sister is rooming with them. As such she deserves fair compensation- if Potter has a vision, your sister is the only way that we would know about it." Ginny gave him an appreciative expression, her personality not having recovered the literal blow to her pride. Dumbledore ignored her and continued speaking. "Once this war ends you are going to have a fortune as well. Potter will be dead and the Granger girl will be soon following due to an unexplained Death Eater attack. After that you will be able to claim a marriage with the last Potter heir and you will be rich beyond your wildest dreams. Why are you arguing for sickles now when you will have enough gold to fill three vaults at Gringotts in just a few years?" He let the question hang for a moment. "Or would you like to be paid more now and have your sister claim to be married to Potter? Better, the girl could have a child and Ginny could raise it- would that be satisfactory to you?"

Ron grumbled and looked away, missing the look passed between Dumbledore and Ginny. "Whatever. I'll just go -risk my life!- to be your precious girls' friend. I just want to say that a bonus every now and then might help me cement the friendship with Granger and Potter. Potter doesn't even know how much she has and since I'll be marrying her it would just be like getting an early payment." He sighed dramatically and walked over to the fireplace.

"You already have the Gryffindor Prefect rooms as your dorm and a weekly  _early payment_. Why do you need more?" Ginny complained, trying to fix her nails from where she messed up when she was slapped. Ron gave her a scornful look, but didn't respond to her.

"Gryffindor Prefect Rooms." He pronounced carefully. He stepped in and was gone, leaving Neville to watch the two left in the room.

They sat in silence for a moment. Then Ginny stood and walked over to sit in front of Albus, perching on his desk with her legs crossed neatly. "Albus?" She said. "When do we get to kill him, again?" She flipped her hair over her shoulder and braided the ends of her hair absentmindedly.

The older man chuckled darkly. He waved a hand and the chess board on the table beside them floated over to her. Dumbledore contemplated the board for a moment then moved one of the pawns forward. "Soon, my dear girl, soon. Do remember the bigger plan, though; you need to slip some more of the love potion in Potter's food. She must fall for one of the Ancient and Noble families heirs and have their child if you are to get the fortune."

Neville had no doubt that if Rose had a child, the second he or she was born Dumbledore would claim the child for himself and destroy anyone in his way.

"I know. I think she's going to have the Malfoy's child. After all even though the Malfoy's are a dark family they're rich; just because they have to die doesn't mean that their gold has to go to waste." Ginny commented. Neville listened in disgust.

She would kill an entire family without cause or proof just because she wanted their money? Neville rolled his eyes at the question; of course she would. It was only the twins and oldest two brothers that were sane from the fresh Weasley generation. Arthur loved his wife, but he had left his children trapped with the greedy woman as he had studied all things muggle. While he was still a good man, everyone knew that his apathy for anything beyond his exploration into the nonmagical world had grown strong.

The spell rippled out and Neville quickly canceled the listening spell and left. It was time to cast doubt on the capability of the headmaster and plan to Honeydukes- preferably at the same time.

Neville moved through the castle to the Gryffindor tower and remembered to stammer the password as a question. The door opened and he stumbled inside, heading to where Rose was sitting curled up in one of the larger chairs. Across the room Ron was harassing Hermione about seeing her homework and the girl was loosing patience with denying him access.

Rose was oblivious, writing in a diary that was familiar to him as he had been there when she had received it. The notebook had been a present for the past Yule from Luna; it was connected to a nearly identical diaries that both Neville and Luna had and was designed so that when something was written in one it showed up on the others.

A brief smile flashed across Rose's face before she moved and her hair block her face from view. Neville walked over and crouched beside her, reaching a hand to close the diary gently. "Rosie, we need to change some plans and Luna needs to be there too. Is she in the Room of Requirement?" She gave a confused nod. "Good. Let's go join her, okay?"

By midnight their plan had been decided. They contacted Draco and told him they wanted to meet his lord. He reluctantly agreed.

 

 

> **And with all this romantic atmosphere**
> 
> **Disaster's in the air**

 

"I always thought the the meeting room would be bigger." Rose mused. She twirled happily, throwing her head back in a laugh and reaching her arms out so her robes swirled around her. Neville smiled from beside her, pulling Luna back gently when she started to follow the Nargles instead of Lucius Malfoy down the hallway.

The Dark Lord had agreed to meet with them after a week of them waiting. The trio slipped out of the castle one weekend, running through the passage ways to the Shrieking Shack where a house elf waited. Neville had been wary of accepting the transportation but both his girls had assured him.

The meeting was to be private, away from overly curious eyes and four people knew they were even coming- Lucius, Draco, Narcissa, and Voldemort himself. Neville could tell that they were loyal to the Dark Lord, but he also knew that the Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy had loyalty to family above all else and through Luna the trio was family. Lucius had greeted them carefully, studying them for a long moment before leading the way through his home to the meeting room.

"How big did you expect the room to be? Would you be more impressed if it was the size of the quidditch field? You wouldn't be able to see it either way, Ladybug." Luna sang, skipping forward to cover Rose's eyes before letting her go. Rose laughed and grabbed the other girl's hand to dance with her. She didn't fight the accusation that she was blind; she had been almost completely blind since the summer before her third year. He uncle hadn't appreciated Rose blowing up his sister and had made sure to punish her before she was able to escape. She only wore her glasses to keep up the appearance she could still see.

"Oh, hush." Rose said, letting Luna free with a final twirl. "Anything you can see I can see, Owl. What everyone else sees is boring." She tilted her head as she heard something Neville couldn't. She grinned lazily and tilted her head back as she sang softly with the song in her head. " _I see the moon; the moon sees me. Down through the leaves of the old oak tree."_

 _"_ _Please let the Rose who comforts me, comfort the ones I love."_ Luna finished teasingly. She always changed the words of the last two lines, but no-one ever corrected her. The two girls laughed happily and Neville smiled fondly at them. All of them ignored the way that Lucius edged away slightly.

His girls might not be fully aware but they weren't crazy yet. Even so...

"Luna, Rose, best behavior please." He said. While they didn't acknowledge his comment, they slowly stopped laughing and straightened slightly as their masks fell back into place. The masks were a far cry from the sharp ones held when the trio first met, but considering how the girls had been broken since then their outward appearance fracturing was to be expected.

Lucius stopped at a study's door and looked at the others for a few solemn moments. "The Dark Lord is inside." He finally said. Neville nodded to him in thanks and braced himself.

"Thank you, Uncle." Luna said, stepping forward to hug him briefly. "Don't worry. It will all be alright soon." She turned and clasped Rose's hands tightly. "The choice must be yours, because when you step out to face that creature, you will step alone." Rose kissed her forehead gently.

"I have already made my choice, only I will never be alone again. From the moment I fell down that rabbit hole I've been told whereI must go and who I must be. I've been shrunk, stretched, scratched, and stuffed into a teapot. I've been accused of being The Girl Who Lived and of not being The Girl Who Lived, but this is my dream. I'll decide where it goes from here." Rose argued. Luna beamed at her approvingly.

"Then let's go and change the world." Luna decided. They turned to the door and Rose hissed a spell that swung the doors open. "Drama queen." They stepped forward together and walked into the study. Neville thanked the oldest Malfoy again and followed his girls into the room as well. He could feel the eyes of the man mapping their movements; he was clearly wondering where their sanity was.

Neville walked into the room, surprised to see it looking like his study back home. A desk was in the corner, large bookshelves lining the walls and two French windows on either side of the desk. Behind it sat a snake like man, red eyes showing narrowing in consideration as he watched the two girls interact in the room. Neville fought down a hysterical laugh at the sight of Luna greeting a plant in one corner and chatting happily to the Nargles living inside it. Rose sat in one of the three chair in front of the desk, humming to an old lullaby and studying the man behind the desk with a slightly tilted head.

"Girls." Neville said, both girls paused what they were doing and turned to look at him. "What have we said about first impressions?"

"That there is no such thing and it's a sociological concept use to try to manipulate people into behaving a way that society deems proper? It's actually what sociologist define as 'the horn and halo complex' that define how we feel about people, that and our own instinctual impression on the subject cannot truly be changed." Rose checked. Neville raised an eyebrow and she smiled dreamily. "Besides, Blibbering Humdingers are responsible for our instinctual opinions of people, dear, you know that."

Luna wrapped an arm around Rose's and tutted at them both. "I think he was commenting about that we should always make good first impressions. But really, Neville, she is right. Rosie and I wrote an article about it for the paper last issue and you  _edited_  it." They both seemed oblivious to the dark lord sitting behind the desk, but he seemed content with being ignored. Still, they were there for a meeting with the dark lord so they might as well actually talk to him.

But they only had a few hours before people would notice they were gone. Rose had only managed to slip part a sleeping potion to Ginny before the younger girl had passed out snoring.

In light of the time limit, Neville stepped up and turned to paused in addressing the man. Did he address him as Voldemort, Tom, Lord Riddle, Lord Slytherin, Dark Lord, or what?

"You wanted to meet with me?" Voldemort prompted after a few moments. Neville nodded and took a seat between his two girls, and for once both of them were with reality.

"Yes. The war coming up will happen no matter what, but we wish to remain as neutral as possible but fight along side the 'dark' when needed." He said bluntly. The Dark Lord raised a hairless eyebrow and motioned to continue. Neville was about to when Luna interrupted.

"We will not work with you when you are this ugly." She stated as she stood. Neville choked and went to pull the girl behind him, but a low chuckle stopped him.

"As ugly as I may be, I have no other appearance to show you." Voldemort countered bemusedly. Luna gave him a scornful look before turning to Rose with a long-suffering expression.

"Do something." She commanded. She slid back into her seat and watched as it was Rose's turn to stand.

Rose didn't say anything for a moment. She only walked closer to the desk and tapped a pendulum on the surface. It swayed slightly and Rose swayed with it. Then she looked up and stared the dark lord in the eyes. "People who stand too close to the light cast wide shadows, you know. That is the paradox of the Light. It seems in our case, though, the source of light is false and all that is true are the shadows." She paused and then sighed. "We have come late to the tea party and have yet to actually pour tea- a dreadful tragedy and one not easily fixed. Those who focus on hidden chessboards and lemon drops are currently in charge an their shadow is vast indeed. So, King of the Dark, we come to you to overthrow the Red King- he has spilt enough blood already in his  _games,"_ Rose spat the word in disgust. "But we will not help another who hides themselves. So, if you would, please remove your mask."

Voldemort studied her for a long moment before he raised his wand and waved it across his face. Neville started in surprise as the snake-like man shifted into a normal person. Slightly curly black hair, tan skin that was much darker than the pasty white of before, and an actual nose all appeared. The only way for Neville to tell it was the same man were the dark red eyes and respect his presence demanded.

Rose thanked him then tilted her head curiously at something no-one else could see. She started chatting to it, oblivious of the rest of the room suddenly. Voldemort turned to Neville and rose an eyebrow. "You  _all_  wish to switch sides?" Neville nodded solemnly. He knew the other man was thinking of Lestrange and her connection to his parents, but Neville would disclose Dumbledore's involvement in causing it at a later time. He brought the memory of the discovery to the front of his mind, making it reachable instead of behind thick shields.

Voldemort's face darkened, showing that he had seen the memory. "Welcome to the dark side." Luna snorted, calling him a drama queen under her breath.

 

 

> **Can you feel the love tonight?**
> 
> **The peace the evening brings**
> 
> **The world, for once, in perfect harmony**
> 
> **With all its living things**

 

Narcissa Malfoy had always wanted a daughter.

When she had found out she was pregnant, she had instantly wished for a girl. Her sisters had told her to wish for a boy to carry on the Malfoy name. Bellatrix- back when she was more sane and her company was still enjoyed- had shared the different tips that she had collected for ensuring the baby was a boy.

(Bellatrix had waited for their mother to leave before slipping Narcissa a list of things to do to ensure a girl.)

Narcissa had done all the steps for a girl. She had already imagined playing tea parties with her daughter and the parties introducing her to society. She had never told her husband of her wish, but she had caught her husband reviewing robe prices for baby girls.

Then the day of her baby's birth had arrived and she had felt bitter disappointment when the baby was born a boy. It was only when she held her son- Draco as she had promised Bellatrix in order to remember the nephew that the world beyond the Black sisters would never know-that she realized that she would love her son just as much.

They had tried for another child- a little sister for their son to play with- but Draco stayed an only child. Narcissa had almost managed to forget the wish for a daughter when her niece had arrived one morning.

She had just sat down to tea with Draco when the house elf had appeared alerting her to the fact that a young girl was standing at the doors to the house. Narcissa had let her in and been appalled when she saw the dirty clothes and thin frame of the young girl. She had recognized her as being related to an estranged cousin of Lucius but did not know who she was until the young girl introduced herself in a manor fit for a pureblood of a high status. It had been as if a daughter had been given to them after all.

When she heard that Luna had requested a meeting with the dark lord, she had fought the immediate instinct to hide the girl away regardless of how it would be seen as a betrayal. She had written her niece before officially setting the meeting and had asked for the motives of the meeting. Luna had kept the main motive secret, but written that it was important and worth the risk of bringing Miss Potter into the presence of Voldemort.

Despite originally being wary of the deal reached, Narcissa had to admit that she enjoyed the changes that the new trio brought to the manor. Neville could usually be seen walking around with the girls, watching them as they interacted with a world that no one else could see. When they wandered too far, he would bring them back to the manor; when they became panicked and their magic unstable, he would bring them to the library and tell them the fairytales that they had missed from their childhood.

A laugh startled her away from her thoughts and she glanced out the window to see the trio sitting with Draco on the grass of the front lawn. Evidently it was a good day as the girls were reading from a muggle novel (something they had been doing to show the muggle stories from their own childhood) and were reading the story with different voices for each character.  _Alice in Wonderland_ was a favorite of theirs and it seemed that it was the chosen story of today.

Narcissa paused as she saw that Nagini had curled up around the Potter girl. They were hissing at each other periodically, Rose snickering every now and then as they did. Narcissa had seen as how both snake and master had been drawn to Rose Potter. They would watch her and more than once Voldemort had commented on the way that Rose acted.

It would small comments on the way she had her hair around her face like a curtain when she read. The way that she could sense people around her by their auras. The way she often sang in other languages when she was lonely, which wasn't often but still happened occasionally. Narcissa in turn had noticed that the way Rose seemed to smile bigger when he was in the room and always seemed to end up touching him in some way, even if it was just fingers brushing his hand.

Just yesterday he had been watching Rose twirl around the courtyard, spinning faster and faster until she collapsed beside her friends. She had been laughing, smiling up at the sky even as it was being covered with storm clouds. Nagini had again been beside her, curled up contentedly as Luna had discussed the finer points of nargle and threstal interactions. Rose had looked over toward the window where he was watching and they seemed to lock eyes. Narcissa had had to remind herself that the girl was blind: Rose's Avada Kedavra eyes always seemed to be aware of what was happening around her.

Narcissa shifted as Voldemort walked beside her and looked at the group with her. She saw his lips twitch upwards and her theory was confirmed.

"She loves you." Narcissa commented. The dark lord stiffened uncomfortably. She briefly decided letting the topic go, but decided it was needed to be said. Whether or not he would admit it, the two were friends."You love her too."

"I am not a loving person." Voldemort responded.

"No." She agreed, nodding. "At least you aren't for anyone else. You love  _her_  and I dare say that it will be the thing to win this war." Narcissa walked away, leaving Voldemort to think that over.

 

 

> **So many things to tell her**
> 
> **But how to make her see**
> 
> **The truth about my past? Impossible!**
> 
> **She'd turn away from me**

 

Voldemort was not a nice man. He knew that.

He had grown up in an environment thick with war and violence. Any sign of weakness was exploited and any sign of strengths had to be quickly hidden as as no-one would expect them. At school he had been in the house of the cunning and had taken over. He had torn down everyone who stood in his way and learned to smile a grin full of teeth and dark promises. Subtle threats became his weapon of choice.

He had killed his family- the unworthy heirs to Slytherin who were disgraces and had died in the filth they lived in. He had split his soul in pieces to ensure his fight would never die. In the beginning, Voldemort even had to eliminate a few allies who betrayed (he had grown to hate those who betrayed and that was part of the reason that he would never trust Peter Pettigrew).

With all of his past, he never deluded himself into thinking he was a good person. He would lie to everyone else, show them what they wanted to see, but he would never lie to himself. He still remembered little Tom Riddle who played on the playground by himself since he scared the other children; orphan Tom Riddle who dreaded going back to the orphanage during the summer because nuns always tried to exorcise the deamons out of him; heir Tom Slytherin who lead his house with an iron fist and taught first years how to behave in a school (world) that hated them. Voldemort remembered all of his history and saw monster it molded.

And yet with Rose he saw a different side to himself.

With her he laughed and did stupid things to get her to laugh. He took her restaurants and castles just to watch her reaction. He had described the sun setting in contrast to untamed forests and laughed at her dancing in the rain- both of them feigning oblivious to the light warming charms that Voldemort had placed on them.

Voldemort provided protection to her and hers- even allowing the mudblood who she had become close to once again after the compulsion charms were removed. The frizzy haired brunette had actually been helpful in planning attacks as no one paid too much attention to a witch they didn't see as a threat. Voldemort preferred planning with the original trio- they saw all possibilities from an attack and would warm if a result would be particularly disastrous- but the mudblood had his grudging respect.

Despite him being aware that he saw Rose differently, it had taken prodding from Narcissa and Lucius (and a particularly memorable comment from Luna) before he had realized that he was as close to loving her as he had ever been aware of. Voldemort had started to court her after that.

His first courting gift had been Pettigrew's fate. She had ripped the man's mind apart and had left nothing in her destruction of the traitor. Watching it was better than any dementor kiss and he fell more for her in those moments.

One of his last gifts had been the protection of the Weasley twins and other allies of hers. Draco had seemed to appreciate the twin's pardons the most and immediately moved them into the room beside his. Rose often laughed that it was a courting punishment for not agreeing to marry him sooner. Voldemort only smiled and kissed her at the joke and asked if she was ready to give in yet.

Then was the day that he took her to a firework show in America.

The muggles had been celebrating something by getting drunk and setting things on fire to explode in the sky. They had arrived after everyone else and sat slightly away from the crowd of emotions and conversations. Narcissa had supplied polyjuice potions and hair so they sat unnoticed by the wizarding section of the gathered. After everyone else had left they had laid back on the slightly damp grass and Rose had described the story of different constellations in the stars.

She had paused after the story of Orion and curled into his side. "Are you prepared for after war?" He had glanced down at the top of her head and pulled her even closer. She had understood the silence and nodded. "You need to be by Yule. Remember, we run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. If you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast."

With Rose, Voldemort saw the person that he might have become, a man that might have been worthy for such innocent and pure affection that Rose gave him.

 

 

> **He's holding back, he's hiding**
> 
> **But what, I can't decide**
> 
> **Why won't he be the king I know he is**
> 
> **The king I see inside?**

 

Rose was not stupid.

She knew more then what people gave her credit for, but she enjoyed people underestimating her. People always let the most delightful information slip when they don't recognize a threat. It was how she had learned about Hermione's compulsion charms and how she learned that the wards at Hogwarts were weakened after years without proper upkeep.

Rose watched the war ending from atop the hill, surrounded up Luna's arms as they hugged each other to stay alert. Those knew who would win, who would live, who would die were already known to both of them. For this event the path was linear with only one outcome available for each person. Luna narrated what was happening to keep her up to date but suddenly stepped back and let her go.

Rose gave her a bemused look but Luna shook her head. "Go. You're needed down there- it's time, my Ladybug. Down with the right side and all that." She smiled. Rose smiled sadly back and kissed her cheek.

"I'll be back." She promised. Luna nodded knowingly, but suddenly seemed lost.

"You know, if you want you can stay." Luna said sadly, and Rose gave a warbled laugh and tugged her sister into a right hug.

"What an idea. What a mad, crazy, wonderful idea." Rose whispered said."Alas, we both know I have to go. Don't worry for me. I'll be back shortly almost the same as I left. I love you, little sister."

"I love you too" Luna responded. "End the war but stay alive." Rose nodded and ran down the hill to the midst of the battle.

Bodies screamed yells and dodged charged lights. Rose ran among them and used her knifes to slice down the light that tried to stop her. (Bellatrix had been thrilled to teach the younger girl what she knew.) Rose stopped by her partner and cut the throat of coward who tried to sneak up on them.

The Dark Lord looked down at her, his snake face looking slightly wary. "I thought you were staying with Luna." He asked, shooting a killing curse casually over his shoulder. Rose shrugged.

"I got bored."

"Where's Luna?"

"Hmm? Oh, she doesn't get involved in politics. She finds them dreadfully boring." Rose said, and Voldemort sent her a disbelieving look. He thought better then to argue with her, though, and they fell into a silence as they protected the other from the flying curses.

"Tom." Rose and Voldemort turned to Dumbledore, and the fighting in the general area stopped to watch the fight. Whoever would win would win more then just a fight. The old man stopped a few feet away, staring at Rose with a puzzled look. "Who is this, Tom? Another Death Eater that you are forcing to fight? Who are you, child?" Rose tilted her head at him for a moment.

"This is not an encouraging opening for a conversation" Rose informed him. The old man's expression briefly flickered surprise and anger before the genial mask was back and the dark fighters tensed incase someone tried to strike her. "Oh, you don't like that. Too used to the spineless, are we? How cheerfully he seems to grin, how neatly spread his claws, and welcome little fishes in with gently smiling jaws!"

"You are insane?" Dumbledore asked. Rose rolled her eyes at the silly question.

"I'll tell you a secret, all the best people are." She said.

"My Dark King, the tea party can not begin without you. The Red King must die first, but I don't think that will be much trouble. " Rose hissed in parseltounge. Voldemort nodded and kissed her firmly. "I will be back, but I must first lose my leg and kill she who will take it. May Darkness not be hunted by a false Light anymore."

"And Balance be restored. I'll take care of him, my love." He hissed back, finishing the blessing. She nodded and skipped away, easily moving through the crowds of curious bodies, shooting subtle killing curses to the enemy that she passed.

She would gather about the little children inside the school, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale. Perhaps even shared with them the dream of a Wonderland of lost long ago and who was just recently remembered in order to be rebuilt.

 

>  
> 
> **Can you feel the love tonight?**
> 
> **The peace the evening brings**
> 
> **The world, for once, in perfect harmony**
> 
> **With all its living things**
> 
> **Can you feel the love tonight?**
> 
> **You needn't look too far**
> 
> **Stealing through the night's uncertainties**
> 
> **Love is where they are**


End file.
